70 nova ss sub frame

[mikem1959]

I am looking at a 70 nova ss front sub frame for $300,is this a good fit for my 3800 ad?can this be bagged? or do I need coilovers?i would want to convert to disc's....any help greatly appreciated...mike

[mikem1959]

the truck is a 51 and will run a 350 sb,here is a pic of front end.

[Indian113]

I used a Nova sub on my 53. I had 15x6 with a 4 inch back spacing also used 205/70-15 tires.

[mr48chev]

It's a bit of a tight fit for the U joints in the steering column but that subframe works out good under these trucks. If you set it up right the core support sits right above the smaller crossmember that is in front of the main crossmember and all you have to do is use the core support as a guide and drill two holes to bolt it up and then put some rubber pads under the core support and on the bottom side as a cushion.

To swap to disk brakes you just find the pieces for a 72 Chevelle or Monte Carlo and it is all unbolt the drum stuff and bolt on the disk stuff. The rotors are available new from O'Reilly's or other places for about 60 bucks each and O'Reilly's shows rebuilt calipers for 26 plus a 23and something core charge. You might have to hunt a bit for the caliper brackets and dust shields though.

I've done the swap from drum to disk twice on that particular front suspension on both my 48 and the 51 Merc I used to have and it is as straightforward and simple as it gets.

The big rub when you do the swap on an AD truck is that you have to do a lot of trimming on the inner fenders to clear the
A arms to get it to fit right. Mine are an ugly mess because I had no patience back in the early 80's when I did the swap and I didn't take my time to get it right.

[mikem1959]

thank you for your replies..here is a pic of my 51 3800 frame...the square tube in back is scrap just laying across frame